We often wait until the "right time" to make changes in life.
“I’ll do it when I’m ready.”
“When things settle down.”
“When I feel stronger.”

But consider this: most people never feel completely ready.

Change doesn’t usually happen when everything lines up perfectly. It happens when you’re simply willing to take the first step — even if that step feels small, uncertain, or uncomfortable.

Think about the very first steps you ever took as a child. You didn’t wait until you had mastered balance or rehearsed every move. 

You pulled yourself up, wobbled forward, and probably landed on your bottom more than once. But you kept going — not because you were ready, but because you were willing. And eventually, walking became second nature.

Hypnotherapy works in a similar way.

You don’t need to arrive at a session with everything figured out. You don’t need to feel fully confident, or even convinced that change is possible. You just need that spark of willingness — and from there, your unconscious mind begins to shift the patterns that keep you stuck.

At Phoenix Hypnotherapy in Cheltenham, I see this often. Clients come through the door saying:

• “I’m not sure I’m ready to face this anxiety.”
• “I’ve been carrying this fear for years — what if I can’t change?”
• “I don’t feel strong enough yet.”

And yet, by being willing to sit down, close their eyes, and allow the process to begin, the change starts to unfold. Not because they were “ready” in some perfect sense, but because they were open enough to take that first step.

Why “Readiness” Is a Myth

Waiting to feel “ready” often becomes another way of staying stuck. Readiness suggests there’s a magic moment where fear disappears, motivation peaks, and certainty appears. In reality, those feelings come after you start.

Hypnotherapy helps because it doesn’t demand readiness — it gently rewires the unconscious patterns so that old fears lose their hold. What once felt overwhelming begins to feel lighter. What once felt impossible starts to feel manageable.

That’s why the willingness to begin is far more powerful than waiting for readiness.

How This Shows Up in Everyday Life

This principle applies far beyond hypnotherapy:

• Weight reduction: You don’t need to wait until you feel completely motivated to change eating habits. Be willing to start with one new choice, and the momentum builds.
• Anxiety and stress: You don’t need to wait until life is calm. Willingness to try something different — even if the worry is still there — is the turning point.
• Habits like smoking or alcohol: Most people aren’t “ready” to let go on day one. But willingness opens the door to freedom.
• Fears and phobias: Nobody feels ready to face fear. But a willingness to look at it differently begins the process of dissolving it.

A Thought to Take With You

Think of change as climbing a ladder. The top can look daunting. But you don’t climb by leaping — you climb one rung at a time. And the only requirement for the first rung isn’t readiness. It’s willingness.

If you’re reading this and wondering whether now is the right time to change — maybe it is.
Not because you feel perfectly ready.
But because you’re willing to take the first step.

Contact me here for a FREE no obligation call where you can discuss your willingness to change, and that's the first step done!